Monday, August 19, 2013

taking a breath...

the last couple weeks have been a whirlwind. it's one of those times that leaves us exhausted but fulfilled and ready for a fresh start. mix in some sickness, cross country traveling, big decisions and two wild little girls and it feels like those big life moments that we're somehow old enough to be experiencing.

the past few months we have had quite a few options for the next few years of our life. matthew and i have both agreed it would have just been easier to have one option. instead of buckling down and deciding we waited until the very last minute to make a decision. i think the smartest choice was always in the back of our mind, but the desire for adventure and change and excitement clouded a lot of our judgement (especially mine!). after a lot of contemplation and pros and cons and ultimately a lot of thought about the girl's and their quality of life we decided to head back to utah for matthew to attend byu law school. byu has always been a safe, smart choice. our girls are registered in an amazing school. dance and gymnastics start. we have family close by and are just a quick plane trip to my parents and whitney. a huge factor is student loans, thanks to byu's inexpensive tuition (gracie's preschool in manhattan would be as much as two years of byu law!) we won't have student debt looming over our heads. i can't help but to feel enormous gratitude for matthew's summer work opportunities the last five years and his ability to push himself harder every year. to obtain a masters degree and through a big chunk of law school debt free is a huge accomplishment; i couldn't be prouder of his hard work.

i feel content and settled and so much at peace with our decision. and to satisfy my adventure craving and matthew's love of tackling new experiences, we've left the door open for transferring after a year. it somehow helps us to feel settled but allows us the chance to change things up if we want to. the next year of our life is is gearing up to be an eventful one. if there is anything i've learned about our life the last few years is how settled i feel knowing we have a little family unit. the comfort that comes with knowing we have our girls and each other makes me so excited for our future and whatever adventures we find!

thanks to my little social media breather, i have an embarrassing amount of pictures to post and some exciting news about a new project...can't wait to share more! and lastly, i just want to thank you for reading and joining in on my little hobby. i've received some of the most sweet emails and instagram comments from some of you and i feel so much gratitude for all of you:)

these pictures are from the last day my mom was in nashville with us. we went to the most amazing gourmet popsicle shop, las paletas. i had a salted caramel creamy popsicle dipped in chocolate that tasted like a little piece of heaven...and then later at home i may have had a coconut popsicle dipped in chocolate that tasted like an ice cream mounds bar...and then maybe a pistachio popsicle. and maybe a couple more. if you are in the nashville area, it's one of my most recommended stops!

3 comments:

I really admire that you and your husband chose BYU law school. I just graduated from NYU law. I have so much student debt, and I will be repaying it for a long time. It is definitely a source of anxiety. While NYU was the right choice for me, I wanted to tell you that I really respect the choice you and your husband made. Thank you for sharing your decision on your blog.

Good luck next year. I look forward to hearing some law school spouse stories on the blog :)

I'm just now seeing your comment- it couldn't have come at a better time! Matthew has been at the library all day studying, it's nice to see from someone else who has finished that it'll be worth it! I loved peeking at your blog and seeing your New York adventures. We love New York but realize what a struggle it would be for a family of 4 at this time. Although it's a little bittersweet, I'm so grateful to feel like we made the right decision!

I am telling myself that I will attempt one of the recipes on your blog...they look so good, but I'm worried my cooking skills aren't quite ready!